Conventional trailers are useful to transport materials but typically have limited additional utility once this task is complete. Such trailers must typically be unloaded before they are stored away, and the transported materials must also be moved and stored or housed separately. In addition, trailers can require large storage space between uses due to their various bulky and awkward configurations. While the prior art has developed trailer structures that can be manipulated into a variety of configurations in order to minimize the storage space required when they are not in use, the steps required to convert such trailers from the transportation to storage modes can be complicated and time-consuming. The sole benefit of the storage mode configuration is typically the minimization of the volume of storage space required and the other disadvantages are not addressed by this remedy. For example, the trailer storage mode configuration is often unstable and unbalanced, creating a potential danger to those near the stored trailer in a garage or other high traffic storage space in the event it is accidentally jarred or shifted. As well, the storage mode often results in the wheels and undercarriage of the trailer projecting outward, creating potentially sharp and/or dirty hazards to nearby individuals.
For example, previous systems have included vertically storable trailers with no function in the storage mode as shown in Canadian Patent No. 1,173,475 (“Luggage and Accessory Trailer”), U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,181 (“Tilt Bed Vertical Storage Utility Trailer”), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,541 (“Stowable Utility Trailer”). Other systems have included trailers that are heavy and awkward to move when in the storage mode as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,096 (“Storable Utility Trailer”).